US advisers say efforts under way for international force in Gaza

Washington in contact with Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Azerbaijan and other nations on possibility of joining effort

Buildings destroyed by Israel near the seashore in Gaza city on October 15. AP Photo

The process for putting together an international force charged with stabilising Gaza has begun, a senior US adviser said on Wednesday, and several countries have expressed interest in taking part.

“The International Stabilisation Force is starting to be constructed and once that occurs, there'll be more efforts, but there's a lot of planning and a lot of very positive conversations between the sides,” the adviser told journalists.

Another adviser said the US is in contact with Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Azerbaijan and other nations on the possibility of their joining the effort.

Indonesia has expressed willingness to contribute troops. During his speech to the UN General Assembly last month, President Prabowo Subianto repeated his country's offer to send soldiers to Gaza if the UN authorised the mission.

The proposed force is an international mission designed to secure and rebuild Gaza.

Its main goals are to maintain security, oversee the disarmament of Hamas, train Palestinian security forces, and support the transition to a new governing authority while enabling humanitarian aid and reconstruction.

According to the US 20-point peace proposal, the force will develop and train a Palestinian police force, which will become a long-term internal security body.

The police force would be expected to ensure security with Israel and neighbouring Egypt.

After an Arab-European meeting in Paris last week that focused on plans for post-war Gaza, French caretaker foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said an international peacekeeping force is expected to move into Gaza as the Israel military withdraws in phases.

The UN Security Council is expected to work on a resolution in the coming weeks that would set up a mandate for the force.

The US advisers said that the process of rebuilding the war-torn strip is complicated by the large amount of rubble that needs to be cleared and the bodies that are buried underneath, as well unexploded ordnance that requires experts to clear.

"There are Gazans who have left because the living conditions are that difficult, but these are tough people and they've been through a lot, and they seem to be resilient, and they're coming back to their homes and they're pitching tents, and aid is flowing in," one adviser said.

"No one's forcing any Gazans to leave."

The advisers added that despite frustration over the fact that only some of the hostage bodies have been handed over by Hamas, it is their understanding that the group intends to honour its part of the agreement.

"We continue to hear from them that they intend to honour the deal," one of the advisers said. "They want to see the deal completed."

Late on Tuesday, Hamas released four bodies after mounting pressure on the group.

Israel responded by notifying aid groups it would halve the number of daily lorries carrying humanitarian aid into the strip in response to the slow release of the bodies.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the US military would not directly take part in the disarmament of Hamas.